Episode 297 Derp, the Crazy Blacksmith (2)
Another day has passed.
Ray, who finally knew how to pick up a hammer and hit iron, tasted despair when Derp said, ‘I’m not ready to hit iron yet’.
Derp handed over a bucket of water instead of iron.
When I look at him as if he doesn’t understand the meaning, he frowns and says.
“You hit the water there.”
“yes?”
“Is this guy deaf? Now that you understand iron, you don’t have to understand water!”
It’s as if it’s morning, so shouldn’t we eat breakfast! It is a natural flow as if
Being so dumbfounded, Ray asked why he was hitting the water, prepared to be slapped on the cheek.
Then, the bizarre answer came back, saying, ‘I’m just hitting it because there is water there’.
I have met all kinds of people in the world, but I have never met anyone of this race in my history.
Why do I have to understand the feelings of still water?
Even though I had heard the old saying of cutting water with a knife, it was my first time hitting water with a hammer.
Ray’s gaze went to a bucket of water piled up in one corner.
It has accumulated a lot of dust because it has not been used for a long time.
Of course, the water in it also ate a lot of dust.
The color of the water made me wonder if it was lye.
he squatted down and grumbled.
“I came to make a sword, and it looks like it’s just splashing around.”
It was a voice I told him to listen to, but it didn’t even matter to Derp.
“noisy. I’ll be out for a while, so don’t goof around.”
He purses his lips and answers.
“yes.”
“Come to think of it, I ran out of anything to eat. If you go to the stream to fetch water, do your best to hunt.”
Now he has mastered the art of pampering.
After Derp left, Ray, who was left alone in the smithy, grabbed the hammer.
I look at the bucket of calm water without a single ripple.
As a test, I hit the water with a hammer.
Splash –
As expected, dirty water splashes here and there.
“When I said to understand iron, I meant to remain calm. What does it mean to understand water?”
I thought about it, but I couldn’t figure it out.
Anyway, now it seems that there is no answer other than playing in the water and playing hard as Derp ordered.
Hit it once more, and the water stirs.
After only two hammerings, the water in the bucket was almost half gone.
If it’s going to be like this, it seems better to do it by the stream.
His answer was good until just now, but as soon as Derp disappeared, his attitude changed crookedly.
“Following crazy things, they now do chores. You eat well.”
Arriving at the stream, he filled a bucket with water and beat it.
Drops of water splashed around without mercy.
Even though his clothes were soaked, he didn’t care much.
It’s just hitting the hammer, but doing it is fun.
It seemed as if the stress that had been built up over and over until now had melted away.
Unlike hammering, which imitated Derp at first, his movements were changing little by little without his knowledge.
The hammering changes very slowly to the shape that suits you.
After hitting the bucket like that for half a day, I came up with a trick.
No matter how much power a hammer contains, it loses much of that power when it comes in contact with water.
As a result, loss of power is bound to occur.
The fact that the spray is large is proof that the loss is so great.
The jagged posture has changed to resemble that of cooking by hitting a cutting board with a knife.
The shaking of the shoulder is gone, and I hit the bucket by moving only my wrist.
Then, the splash of water that splashed on my face gradually became smaller.
Now, it’s only to the point of popping briefly on the wrist.
There was no particular change in the distribution of power.
It’s just that the feeling of hitting water with a hammer has gradually become accustomed to it, and it has become proficient.
Derp’s teaching, which he thought was crazy, was working.
* * *
“Has anything good happened? Lately, the smile on your face doesn’t seem to leave.”
Derp grinned at the dwarf with his beard down to his waist as if he was disgusted.
He emptied the huge barrel at once and said.
“A funny guy came in. He grumbles once you teach him, but he never asks twice. He learns quickly and has the guts to push his way when the need arises.”
“Sometimes they said that disciples were only getting in the way.”
“Ah, then was then, and now is now.”
“Are you saying that in the end you also became a disciple fool?”
“ha ha ha. These days, they even hunted me for thinking of my body.”
I definitely didn’t hunt with him in mind.
I just did it because I was forced to.
If Ray had listened to the conversation from the side, he would have shed tears of resentment.
The Dwarf was fooled by a fabrication that had nothing to do with the truth.
He only thinks so because an old friend says so.
“You made a good disciple. So, from what you see, how far have you come now?”
Respond with an angry smile.
“Anyway, for a blacksmith, flamboyant techniques are small skills. Only the depth of the hammer is what counts.”
Even though I don’t know the English language, I understand it like it’s perfect.
“Oh, that’s great. I might get a good look soon.”
“You will be surprised to see him. Because he’s a guy who changes every day.”
Derp, who was stingy before, praised him until his mouth was dry.
The dwarf tilts his glass and smiles at the sight of a close friend he has never seen before.
Since ancient times, people have often heard that Dwarves are crazy about blacksmithing, but among them, Derp was the best.
I use a hammer to reach a certain state, not to hammer for the weapon to be made.
It was to the point where I could feel the vertigo in his eyes.
Certainly, the way of thinking is not normal, but after all, it does not necessarily lead to bad results.
He, who had always frowned, seemed to be having fun for the first time in a while, and his mood improved.
“If you, who doesn’t go out often, asked me to drink like this, I’ve said enough. What are you going to do with the mines?”
“It’s a mine. I forgot about that because it was fun to bully this guy. Well, I have no idea right now.”
“Keukkeuk. Since I don’t show up in the mines, everyone likes that I can live better, so it’s rather good.”
Actually, the work is good, but when Derp goes to the mine, everyone is extremely nervous.
Because you never know when something will happen.
Last time, there was also a dwarf who was slapped for dropping a precious piece of iron on the floor.
There are even those who have been beaten for trying to understand how iron feels while hammering thoughtlessly in their smithy.
It wasn’t just Ray that bothered him.
The two dwarves drank and talked all night long.
* * *
After another month, Derp retrieved the bucket from him.
Of course, I didn’t forget to say a word.
“I wondered how long they were running water, but it took a long time. Even if I teach it to a kobold, it will be better than you.”
In an instant, they were treated worse than kobolds.
There was no longer any energy left to protest.
For a month, I only hit puddles of water.
In fact, I thought that Derp simply wanted to bully him.
At that time, the man who was walking ahead spoke softly.
“…I have something to give you, so come with me.”
When I followed him into the smithy, the fire in the furnace was burning hot for some reason.
Derp, who was searching for something under an old shelf, takes out a faded anvil.
Numerous sharply drawn scratches and dented surfaces are impressive.
“It’s time to start pounding iron. Make it yours.”
Hand over the anvil while talking.
Can you finally do blacksmithing like blacksmithing?
Ray’s face was flushed with excitement.
How much have you eaten so far?
I had to do crazy things for granted, and I can’t count all the fingers and toes I’ve been slapped on the cheek for saying one wrong thing.
I accepted it, wiping away the tears that were about to come out.
I only have one anvil, but I have the womb of a blacksmith.
Radar has grown without realizing it.
As he holds the anvil in his stance, his strong arms are revealed at first glance.
Derp looked at it and nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. Give it a try.”
He throws a fist-sized lump of iron.
It is a simple iron that has not been heated in a furnace.
In a way, he was quite familiar with the iron plate because of what had happened, but it was almost the first time he encountered a round iron lump that was not well shaped.
Ray grabbed the hammer without hesitation.
His hammer gently strikes the iron, just as a musician who has shared the joys and sorrows of an instrument all his life plucks the note affectionately.
Even though it was only a slight blow, a powerful sound echoed everywhere.
Caan-!
It sounded very similar to the one Derp hit earlier.
‘Is that all you can do?’ Derp, who was nothing but a ‘useless guy’, praised him for the first time.
“Among the lesser human bastards, you have decent skills.”
Derp, who took the anvil and blew the cheek of Ray, who jumped with joy, pointed at the brazier.
Not knowing the meaning, he tilted his head and put his hand near the brazier.
Derp doesn’t know how to use mana.
His strength was strong enough to compete with an orc, but he had never learned swordsmanship or magic.
Mana can’t protect it, so if it’s a culprit, of course, the heat will ripen.
However, he lived with heat for many years. This is no big deal.
He asks, roughly measuring the temperature with his calloused hands.
“What is the most important thing in a forge?”
“I am a blacksmith.”
“right. The most important thing in the smithy that produces weapons is the blacksmith. But the hearth is just as important. If either of these two things are missing, the place cannot be called a forge.”
“yes.”
“Starting today, you touch iron. Throw away the arrogant idea of making armor. With your skills, you can’t even make armor, let alone leather sacks.”
“I will keep that in mind!”
“I heard that you deal with mana. Try using mana when you touch iron. I’ll just put my hand down.”
Even though he made a ghastly noise in his face, Ray did not take it seriously.
“To dare to use mana in a sacred forge is outrageous.”
“ha ha ha! Always keep that spirit in mind!”
Over time, the two began to resemble each other.
